1 00:00:08,640 --> 00:00:11,080 Speaker 1: Hey, or hey, can you smell the spring in the air? 2 00:00:11,760 --> 00:00:13,920 Speaker 1: The air does say makes for fresh these days? I 3 00:00:13,960 --> 00:00:17,640 Speaker 1: think it's all those l A drivers in quarantine. Well, 4 00:00:17,760 --> 00:00:21,319 Speaker 1: you better enjoy that fresh smell while it lasts. Is 5 00:00:21,360 --> 00:00:23,720 Speaker 1: your particle collider going to create a black hole that 6 00:00:23,880 --> 00:00:26,200 Speaker 1: sucks it all the way? Why do you always blame 7 00:00:26,400 --> 00:00:29,400 Speaker 1: particle physicists for everything? Why would I not blame part 8 00:00:29,400 --> 00:00:32,680 Speaker 1: of the physicists. I mean, it's definitely not the cartoonist fault. 9 00:00:32,720 --> 00:00:35,760 Speaker 1: It's something happens point taken. But you know, the Earth 10 00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:38,879 Speaker 1: is losing its air, but this time it's not actually 11 00:00:39,000 --> 00:00:54,880 Speaker 1: our fault. I am Hornhammack, cartoonist and the creator of 12 00:00:54,960 --> 00:00:59,520 Speaker 1: PhD comments. I'm Daniel Watson. I'm a particle physicist, and 13 00:00:59,600 --> 00:01:02,959 Speaker 1: I'm not responsible for the end of the world, not yet, 14 00:01:03,680 --> 00:01:05,640 Speaker 1: Not this time. Don't you have to give that disclaimer? 15 00:01:06,319 --> 00:01:08,360 Speaker 1: Not this time? How many times? How many times are 16 00:01:08,400 --> 00:01:10,560 Speaker 1: you guys expecting to end there? Well, it's sort of 17 00:01:10,600 --> 00:01:13,160 Speaker 1: like running away from the bear, right, You don't need 18 00:01:13,200 --> 00:01:14,840 Speaker 1: to run faster in the bear. You just have to 19 00:01:14,920 --> 00:01:17,080 Speaker 1: run faster than your friend. So I just need to 20 00:01:17,120 --> 00:01:19,360 Speaker 1: be the second person to destroy the world, and then 21 00:01:19,360 --> 00:01:23,959 Speaker 1: I'm basically in a sense, because that makes no logical sense. 22 00:01:25,600 --> 00:01:27,720 Speaker 1: Well helps me sleep at night at least. So I 23 00:01:27,760 --> 00:01:30,880 Speaker 1: got into particle physics specifically because it has almost no 24 00:01:31,240 --> 00:01:35,120 Speaker 1: practical applications and therefore cannot be weaponized or anything like that. 25 00:01:35,480 --> 00:01:37,840 Speaker 1: So I would be devastated if it ended up destroying 26 00:01:37,880 --> 00:01:40,360 Speaker 1: the world. Has no practical applications, but it does have 27 00:01:40,480 --> 00:01:44,160 Speaker 1: practical implications we'll see. But welcome to our podcasts. Daniel 28 00:01:44,200 --> 00:01:47,000 Speaker 1: and Jorge Explain the Universe, a production of My Heart 29 00:01:47,080 --> 00:01:48,880 Speaker 1: Radio in which we give you a tour of all 30 00:01:48,880 --> 00:01:53,680 Speaker 1: the crazy, beautiful, nonsense insanity that's out there in the universe. 31 00:01:53,840 --> 00:01:56,000 Speaker 1: All the things that seem like they don't make sense 32 00:01:56,080 --> 00:01:58,600 Speaker 1: until we explain them to you, all the things out 33 00:01:58,640 --> 00:02:00,520 Speaker 1: there in space and all the things here on Earth 34 00:02:00,560 --> 00:02:02,280 Speaker 1: as well. We try to explain them so you can 35 00:02:02,360 --> 00:02:05,360 Speaker 1: understand and also kind of realize how precious they are. 36 00:02:05,440 --> 00:02:07,320 Speaker 1: Sometimes that's right, and we do our best to bring 37 00:02:07,320 --> 00:02:10,760 Speaker 1: you to the forefront of scientific thinking, because what scientists 38 00:02:10,760 --> 00:02:13,560 Speaker 1: are wondering about is what we are all wondering about. 39 00:02:13,800 --> 00:02:16,480 Speaker 1: We'd like to know how long will the universe be around? 40 00:02:16,720 --> 00:02:19,240 Speaker 1: What is everything made out of? End? How long can 41 00:02:19,280 --> 00:02:22,560 Speaker 1: we rely on that fresh spring. How long would it 42 00:02:22,600 --> 00:02:25,959 Speaker 1: all last? Any these days, it kind of seems like 43 00:02:26,000 --> 00:02:28,640 Speaker 1: not that long, but people are feeling up to before 44 00:02:28,720 --> 00:02:31,200 Speaker 1: Mega Maids sucks it all away. But no, you're right. 45 00:02:31,240 --> 00:02:32,959 Speaker 1: I think that the l a air, I think is 46 00:02:33,000 --> 00:02:35,960 Speaker 1: the cleanness it's ever been, maybe since the turn of 47 00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:38,200 Speaker 1: the century, the last century. That's true. When we take 48 00:02:38,240 --> 00:02:41,079 Speaker 1: our carefully socially distanced hikes and we get to a 49 00:02:41,120 --> 00:02:43,120 Speaker 1: nearby peak, we can see like all the way up 50 00:02:43,120 --> 00:02:45,600 Speaker 1: to Malibu. It's pretty impressive. And so I think, you know, 51 00:02:45,720 --> 00:02:48,440 Speaker 1: air is something that we probably all take for granted 52 00:02:48,600 --> 00:02:50,760 Speaker 1: because we've always had it. We have it all the time, 53 00:02:51,320 --> 00:02:53,480 Speaker 1: and it's something we definitely need to breathe and to 54 00:02:53,520 --> 00:02:57,000 Speaker 1: survive and which protects us from space. But people might 55 00:02:57,000 --> 00:03:00,320 Speaker 1: be surprised to hear that it's actually kind of fragile. Yeah, 56 00:03:00,360 --> 00:03:04,520 Speaker 1: I'm definitely pro atmosphere on that side of you. But 57 00:03:04,680 --> 00:03:06,639 Speaker 1: the thing that you realize when you're sort of standing 58 00:03:06,680 --> 00:03:08,320 Speaker 1: up on the top of a mountain and you're looking 59 00:03:08,360 --> 00:03:11,040 Speaker 1: at the curve of the Earth is that the atmosphere 60 00:03:11,160 --> 00:03:14,760 Speaker 1: is a tiny, tiny little layer on the surface of 61 00:03:14,760 --> 00:03:18,040 Speaker 1: a huge ball. I mean, it's like one quarter of 62 00:03:18,200 --> 00:03:21,200 Speaker 1: one percent of the radius of the Earth is our 63 00:03:21,280 --> 00:03:28,120 Speaker 1: atmosphere point five of the radio points to five to five. Wow, 64 00:03:28,280 --> 00:03:30,320 Speaker 1: So I've heard it say it's almost like a thin 65 00:03:30,400 --> 00:03:33,200 Speaker 1: layer of paint on a bone. Yeah, it's like the 66 00:03:33,200 --> 00:03:37,480 Speaker 1: most delicate little envelope surrounding a globe. If you're holding 67 00:03:37,480 --> 00:03:40,000 Speaker 1: the Earth in your hand, you probably wouldn't even notice it. 68 00:03:40,160 --> 00:03:43,080 Speaker 1: You know. Our oceans, for example, are like the thinnest 69 00:03:43,160 --> 00:03:45,720 Speaker 1: layer of water on the surface of a planet, and 70 00:03:45,760 --> 00:03:48,840 Speaker 1: the atmosphere is even more delicate. Right, Earth rocks, it's 71 00:03:48,920 --> 00:03:52,280 Speaker 1: mostly rocks, mostly rock, a little bit of a shine 72 00:03:52,320 --> 00:03:54,360 Speaker 1: to it, and a little bit of air surrounding it. 73 00:03:54,840 --> 00:03:56,960 Speaker 1: And that's different from other planets. You know, other planets 74 00:03:56,960 --> 00:04:00,800 Speaker 1: like Jupiter, there's like mostly atmosphere other place. Yeah. Well, yeah, 75 00:04:00,880 --> 00:04:03,280 Speaker 1: Jupiter is all gas. Well at its core, you know, 76 00:04:03,320 --> 00:04:05,680 Speaker 1: it still has a little bit of rock and there's 77 00:04:05,720 --> 00:04:08,400 Speaker 1: some metallic bits down there, but the the gaseous part 78 00:04:08,440 --> 00:04:10,640 Speaker 1: of it is, you know, it's a huge chunk of it. 79 00:04:10,760 --> 00:04:12,840 Speaker 1: So Earth is a little bit different from some of 80 00:04:12,840 --> 00:04:15,480 Speaker 1: the other planets, and so our atmosphere is especially thin 81 00:04:15,560 --> 00:04:18,880 Speaker 1: and especially fragile. It's like a very delicate tupe on 82 00:04:18,880 --> 00:04:23,400 Speaker 1: the top of a very bald head. Well, I guess 83 00:04:23,400 --> 00:04:26,280 Speaker 1: the question is why do we even have atmospheres? And 84 00:04:26,400 --> 00:04:28,120 Speaker 1: you know, as you said, we look around the Solar 85 00:04:28,120 --> 00:04:30,440 Speaker 1: System and we see that other planets don't have them. 86 00:04:30,480 --> 00:04:35,039 Speaker 1: They've actually lost their atmospheres, Like Marks, Yeah, Mars used 87 00:04:35,040 --> 00:04:38,560 Speaker 1: to have an atmosphere and now it's gone. And sort 88 00:04:38,560 --> 00:04:41,520 Speaker 1: of fascinating perspective on the universe is to imagine billions 89 00:04:41,560 --> 00:04:44,360 Speaker 1: of years ago when Venus and Earth and Mars used 90 00:04:44,360 --> 00:04:46,920 Speaker 1: to all be very similar. They had atmospheres, there's more 91 00:04:46,960 --> 00:04:50,080 Speaker 1: similar service temperatures, and now Earth is basically the only 92 00:04:50,080 --> 00:04:52,440 Speaker 1: place you would like to live. You know, Mars got 93 00:04:52,520 --> 00:04:54,919 Speaker 1: super cold and lost its air, and Venus got super 94 00:04:55,000 --> 00:04:58,120 Speaker 1: duper hot and its atmosphere is super dense. Well, it 95 00:04:58,279 --> 00:05:00,760 Speaker 1: kind of depends how hot you like it, Daniel. Nobody 96 00:05:00,800 --> 00:05:06,520 Speaker 1: likes it Venus hot except the Venusians. Yeah, exactly. I 97 00:05:06,600 --> 00:05:08,599 Speaker 1: wonder what it's like for them to take vacations on 98 00:05:08,600 --> 00:05:10,840 Speaker 1: the surface of the Earth. You know, they bundle up 99 00:05:10,839 --> 00:05:12,880 Speaker 1: even in southern California and you're like, oh my god, 100 00:05:12,920 --> 00:05:16,240 Speaker 1: this is so coolget but it's nine degrees on the 101 00:05:16,279 --> 00:05:18,719 Speaker 1: surface of Venus. They're like, wow, we can make snowballs 102 00:05:18,760 --> 00:05:23,520 Speaker 1: with wood water. That's crazy. But yeah, so it's it's 103 00:05:23,520 --> 00:05:26,320 Speaker 1: a big question how does the planet lose its atmosphere? 104 00:05:26,600 --> 00:05:31,360 Speaker 1: And I guess by consequence, how will Earth lose its atmosphere? Yeah? 105 00:05:31,600 --> 00:05:34,160 Speaker 1: Will Earth lose its atmosphere? It's just another question that 106 00:05:34,200 --> 00:05:37,400 Speaker 1: reminds you that on cosmic time scales, the Solar System 107 00:05:37,400 --> 00:05:40,480 Speaker 1: and the universe are quite dynamic. The Solar System didn't 108 00:05:40,520 --> 00:05:43,520 Speaker 1: always look this way. The Earth won't always look this way. 109 00:05:43,600 --> 00:05:46,479 Speaker 1: Other planets have changed. When you only look on a 110 00:05:46,560 --> 00:05:49,200 Speaker 1: hundred years or two hundred years time scale, things to 111 00:05:49,480 --> 00:05:52,160 Speaker 1: seem to move pretty slowly and you might be confused 112 00:05:52,200 --> 00:05:54,719 Speaker 1: and think that they're static. But things are changing actually 113 00:05:54,760 --> 00:05:57,720 Speaker 1: quite quickly on a cosmological time scale. Yeah, and so 114 00:05:57,760 --> 00:06:00,520 Speaker 1: I think scientists have lots of ways in which we 115 00:06:00,560 --> 00:06:03,200 Speaker 1: can lose our atmosphere. I mean, it's just this thin 116 00:06:03,279 --> 00:06:06,120 Speaker 1: layer of gas hanging on by gravity onto our giant 117 00:06:06,200 --> 00:06:09,360 Speaker 1: ball of rock. But recently there's been a study that 118 00:06:09,480 --> 00:06:12,520 Speaker 1: has a new crazy idea about how it could all 119 00:06:12,600 --> 00:06:15,800 Speaker 1: be gone. Yeah, it was a fascinating new idea and 120 00:06:15,800 --> 00:06:18,960 Speaker 1: it sort of adds to our understanding for how planets 121 00:06:18,960 --> 00:06:21,040 Speaker 1: can get rid of their atmospheres and also sort of 122 00:06:21,160 --> 00:06:24,599 Speaker 1: solves a mystery about exoplanets, and so do they on 123 00:06:24,600 --> 00:06:30,640 Speaker 1: the bark and we'll be asking the question, how can 124 00:06:30,680 --> 00:06:33,800 Speaker 1: the planet lose its atmosphere? You make it sound like 125 00:06:33,800 --> 00:06:35,560 Speaker 1: it just sort of like put it down, walked away 126 00:06:35,600 --> 00:06:37,919 Speaker 1: and came back and it was just gone, Like have 127 00:06:38,000 --> 00:06:39,839 Speaker 1: you seen my keys that were on the counter. In 128 00:06:39,920 --> 00:06:43,240 Speaker 1: terms of planetary scale time scales, it is sort of possible. Right, 129 00:06:43,320 --> 00:06:46,440 Speaker 1: one day, we could have an atmosphere. Next day it's 130 00:06:46,480 --> 00:06:49,440 Speaker 1: all gone. Somebody took it, right, and you're like, hey, Mars, 131 00:06:49,640 --> 00:06:51,120 Speaker 1: you didn't use to have an atmosphere, and then I 132 00:06:51,160 --> 00:06:54,280 Speaker 1: lost mine? Did you steal my atmosphere? That's another interesting question. 133 00:06:55,200 --> 00:06:57,920 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, you can planets steel atmospheres from each other 134 00:06:58,040 --> 00:07:00,440 Speaker 1: they get close enough, you know, like a black hole 135 00:07:00,680 --> 00:07:04,240 Speaker 1: sucking gas from a neutron star. Well, maybe we should 136 00:07:04,320 --> 00:07:07,360 Speaker 1: keep our social distance from Mars. That's right, that's right, 137 00:07:07,440 --> 00:07:10,240 Speaker 1: planetary distancing. Yeah, And so, as usually, we were wondering 138 00:07:10,240 --> 00:07:13,400 Speaker 1: how many people out there in the public knew whether 139 00:07:13,480 --> 00:07:16,400 Speaker 1: it was even possible to lose your atmosphere, or even 140 00:07:16,440 --> 00:07:19,280 Speaker 1: possible to lose it in the way that this new 141 00:07:19,560 --> 00:07:22,720 Speaker 1: study says that we could, and so I asked questions, 142 00:07:22,760 --> 00:07:24,800 Speaker 1: but in a sort of a new way. You see, 143 00:07:24,800 --> 00:07:27,680 Speaker 1: Irvine's campus is closed and we're all staying home to 144 00:07:27,760 --> 00:07:30,239 Speaker 1: stay safe, and so I reached down to the internet 145 00:07:30,280 --> 00:07:33,160 Speaker 1: to ask for volunteers to people who are willing to 146 00:07:33,200 --> 00:07:36,240 Speaker 1: answer random questions from a scruffy looking physicist. And the 147 00:07:36,280 --> 00:07:39,080 Speaker 1: internet didn't know you're a scruffy looking physicist. Did you 148 00:07:39,120 --> 00:07:41,720 Speaker 1: get more responses this this way? You know, my avatar 149 00:07:41,760 --> 00:07:43,520 Speaker 1: in the internet is the drawing you made in which 150 00:07:43,560 --> 00:07:46,160 Speaker 1: you made me look pretty scrappy looking. So I think 151 00:07:46,160 --> 00:07:49,040 Speaker 1: it's a fair representation. Oh man, Daniel, I am so 152 00:07:49,120 --> 00:07:52,760 Speaker 1: insulted that I did not draw that avatar reviews it 153 00:07:52,840 --> 00:07:56,040 Speaker 1: was another cartoon, is no, my avatar is the one 154 00:07:56,080 --> 00:07:58,920 Speaker 1: that you drew. I have one also from Saturday Morning 155 00:07:58,920 --> 00:08:01,880 Speaker 1: Breakfast Cereal that I is on Gmail. I see on 156 00:08:01,960 --> 00:08:04,880 Speaker 1: social media. It's your drawing of me podcasting some people, 157 00:08:05,080 --> 00:08:09,800 Speaker 1: you professor your favorite cartoons mean to other people it's 158 00:08:09,800 --> 00:08:14,800 Speaker 1: a different cartoons. But anyways, I've been cheating on you 159 00:08:14,840 --> 00:08:17,760 Speaker 1: with other cartoonists. Yes, anyway, I reached out to these 160 00:08:17,760 --> 00:08:21,280 Speaker 1: folks online and here's what they had to say. And 161 00:08:21,280 --> 00:08:23,960 Speaker 1: if you're interested in volunteering for a future round of 162 00:08:24,200 --> 00:08:28,120 Speaker 1: Internet random Questions right to us at questions at Daniel 163 00:08:28,160 --> 00:08:30,840 Speaker 1: and Jorge dot com and volunteer. I think next time, 164 00:08:30,840 --> 00:08:32,720 Speaker 1: maybe you should just pick up the phone book and 165 00:08:33,040 --> 00:08:35,120 Speaker 1: if you have a phone book, if the hymn exists 166 00:08:35,120 --> 00:08:37,000 Speaker 1: these days, but pick up something like a phone book 167 00:08:37,040 --> 00:08:39,440 Speaker 1: and just that all random numbers and see and ask 168 00:08:39,480 --> 00:08:42,480 Speaker 1: this question right, because we all love telemarketers, and this 169 00:08:42,559 --> 00:08:45,600 Speaker 1: is even better than telemarkers. It's telemarketers that make you 170 00:08:45,640 --> 00:08:48,160 Speaker 1: feel ignorant as a telephysicist. It could be a trade. 171 00:08:48,160 --> 00:08:50,400 Speaker 1: If you're like, Hi, I'm a physicist. If you have 172 00:08:50,880 --> 00:08:53,240 Speaker 1: any questions about the universe, I will answer it right now. 173 00:08:53,280 --> 00:08:57,120 Speaker 1: But first, all right, well here's what people had to say. Yes, 174 00:08:57,600 --> 00:09:00,520 Speaker 1: given the fact that Earth's atmosphere isn't do so great 175 00:09:00,520 --> 00:09:04,800 Speaker 1: at the moment, absolutely they can. Are magnetic field that 176 00:09:04,920 --> 00:09:08,680 Speaker 1: encompasses the Earth protects our Earth from the Sun's radiation 177 00:09:08,840 --> 00:09:12,200 Speaker 1: solar wind, and solar wind would blow the atmosphere away. 178 00:09:12,240 --> 00:09:16,080 Speaker 1: If we didn't have the electro magnetic field around the Earth, 179 00:09:16,160 --> 00:09:18,840 Speaker 1: then we would have no atmosphere, similar to Mars. I 180 00:09:18,880 --> 00:09:22,120 Speaker 1: believe they can lose their atmosphere if they're too close 181 00:09:22,160 --> 00:09:24,800 Speaker 1: to their Sun. I don't know. Really depends who was 182 00:09:25,240 --> 00:09:28,120 Speaker 1: living there at the time. I think definitely, Yes, can 183 00:09:28,160 --> 00:09:33,560 Speaker 1: be caused by an external can be a supernova, asteroid, 184 00:09:34,679 --> 00:09:40,200 Speaker 1: or internal might be losing your manic the field. I mean, 185 00:09:40,320 --> 00:09:44,160 Speaker 1: I know that we are constantly losing gases um without 186 00:09:44,280 --> 00:09:49,360 Speaker 1: space due to atmospheric escape. But whether we could lose 187 00:09:49,640 --> 00:09:52,679 Speaker 1: the whole atmosphere, I'm not so sure about that. I'm 188 00:09:52,720 --> 00:09:55,360 Speaker 1: not sure how that would work. I definitely think so. 189 00:09:55,400 --> 00:09:57,320 Speaker 1: If we know anything about the Earth, is we have 190 00:09:57,600 --> 00:09:59,680 Speaker 1: like a core that's that's causing us to have a 191 00:09:59,720 --> 00:10:02,600 Speaker 1: magnet at an atmosphere, and that protects us from like 192 00:10:02,640 --> 00:10:05,480 Speaker 1: the solar winds, and we have like theories and ideas 193 00:10:05,480 --> 00:10:07,880 Speaker 1: of how that amphair started. But I can definitely see, 194 00:10:08,000 --> 00:10:11,120 Speaker 1: you know, a situation where on some certain planet the 195 00:10:11,160 --> 00:10:15,520 Speaker 1: core stop spinning and the magnetism field stops, and elements 196 00:10:15,800 --> 00:10:18,080 Speaker 1: of the atmosphere can just be blown away by a 197 00:10:18,120 --> 00:10:20,800 Speaker 1: sun's wind, like a solar wind. Yes, I certainly think 198 00:10:20,840 --> 00:10:25,360 Speaker 1: it's possible for a planet to lose its atmosphere m Mars, 199 00:10:25,400 --> 00:10:29,439 Speaker 1: I think lost. It's a lot of the atmosphere once 200 00:10:29,480 --> 00:10:34,520 Speaker 1: it's cool cooled down on the magnetic field fight in 201 00:10:34,720 --> 00:10:39,439 Speaker 1: the Sun's blew a lot of the atmosphere away. Yeah. Absolutely, Um, 202 00:10:39,880 --> 00:10:43,920 Speaker 1: Mars lost its atmosphere. Yes, a planet can definitely lose 203 00:10:43,960 --> 00:10:47,960 Speaker 1: its atmosphere. All right, some pretty good answers there. Yeah, 204 00:10:48,080 --> 00:10:50,120 Speaker 1: a lot of people have different ideas about how we 205 00:10:50,200 --> 00:10:52,640 Speaker 1: can lose our atmosphere. Yeah, and these are all our 206 00:10:52,679 --> 00:10:56,000 Speaker 1: podcast listeners, and so they've probably heard us talking about 207 00:10:56,080 --> 00:10:59,280 Speaker 1: magnetic fields and solar winds and Mars. Do you think 208 00:10:59,320 --> 00:11:02,720 Speaker 1: they cheated? Know? I'm saying, I'm proud that our listeners 209 00:11:02,760 --> 00:11:06,200 Speaker 1: have learned something about astrophysics and space physics and that 210 00:11:06,280 --> 00:11:10,040 Speaker 1: they have absorbed some knowledge. They're better educated on average 211 00:11:10,040 --> 00:11:12,600 Speaker 1: on these topics than your random you see, Irvine undergrad 212 00:11:12,800 --> 00:11:16,679 Speaker 1: Welcome to Daniel and Jorge University, the only university is 213 00:11:16,760 --> 00:11:21,720 Speaker 1: still standing these days. But what I was interested in 214 00:11:21,920 --> 00:11:24,280 Speaker 1: and was surprised by it was by how people need 215 00:11:24,320 --> 00:11:25,920 Speaker 1: about all the different ways that we can lose our 216 00:11:25,960 --> 00:11:28,840 Speaker 1: solar systems. So maybe let's start with that. Daniels, walk 217 00:11:28,920 --> 00:11:30,760 Speaker 1: us through what are some of the ways in which 218 00:11:30,800 --> 00:11:33,240 Speaker 1: we can lose our atmosphere? Well, the first way that 219 00:11:33,280 --> 00:11:35,200 Speaker 1: people talked about, and the first thing that probably comes 220 00:11:35,200 --> 00:11:37,040 Speaker 1: to your mind. And the way that we've talked about 221 00:11:37,040 --> 00:11:38,960 Speaker 1: a lot in this podcast is that it can just 222 00:11:39,000 --> 00:11:41,920 Speaker 1: get blown away. Like the Earth is surrounded by this 223 00:11:41,960 --> 00:11:44,520 Speaker 1: ball of gas and it's held on by gravity. But 224 00:11:44,559 --> 00:11:46,680 Speaker 1: there are winds out there in the Solar System that 225 00:11:46,720 --> 00:11:49,880 Speaker 1: can help sort of sweep away particles from our atmosphere. 226 00:11:50,440 --> 00:11:52,960 Speaker 1: Sometimes it's hard to remember that, you know, we're just 227 00:11:53,000 --> 00:11:55,720 Speaker 1: a giant ball of rock floating in space, you know, 228 00:11:55,800 --> 00:11:59,600 Speaker 1: and that the air that we breathe, our atmosphere is 229 00:11:59,600 --> 00:12:02,040 Speaker 1: isn't it attatched to us. It's just hanging on by gravity. 230 00:12:02,160 --> 00:12:04,719 Speaker 1: So if something comes over and blows it away, we 231 00:12:04,720 --> 00:12:07,040 Speaker 1: could lose it, that's right. And this isn't like, you know, 232 00:12:07,120 --> 00:12:09,960 Speaker 1: a hurricane blowing the wind to knock over your ice 233 00:12:09,960 --> 00:12:13,440 Speaker 1: cream or anything most tortured analogy. Ever, the wind we're 234 00:12:13,440 --> 00:12:16,120 Speaker 1: talking about here is the Solar wind, and the solar 235 00:12:16,160 --> 00:12:19,840 Speaker 1: wind is not like the motion of the air on Earth. 236 00:12:20,120 --> 00:12:23,040 Speaker 1: It's a stream of particles and radiation emitted by the 237 00:12:23,080 --> 00:12:26,160 Speaker 1: Sun and so it's mostly protons, but it's also high 238 00:12:26,200 --> 00:12:29,040 Speaker 1: speed electrons and other stuff. And what happens when these 239 00:12:29,080 --> 00:12:32,400 Speaker 1: particles impact the Earth's surface is that they can knock 240 00:12:32,480 --> 00:12:35,679 Speaker 1: off particles of gas. Because these things hit it really 241 00:12:35,760 --> 00:12:39,200 Speaker 1: high speed. They hit it like a million miles per hour. 242 00:12:39,720 --> 00:12:42,319 Speaker 1: It's like point one percent of the speed of light. 243 00:12:42,440 --> 00:12:46,200 Speaker 1: And so it might knock the atmosphere particles and then 244 00:12:46,520 --> 00:12:49,080 Speaker 1: throw them into space and then we'll lose them. Yeah, exactly. 245 00:12:49,080 --> 00:12:51,760 Speaker 1: It's like a big billiard ball hits another one and 246 00:12:51,800 --> 00:12:54,240 Speaker 1: they both go flying off into space because it has 247 00:12:54,240 --> 00:12:56,480 Speaker 1: a huge amount of energy and it shares some of 248 00:12:56,480 --> 00:12:59,040 Speaker 1: that energy with these particles of our atmosphere, and then 249 00:12:59,040 --> 00:13:01,920 Speaker 1: they both have enough energy to escape. Okay, So that's 250 00:13:02,000 --> 00:13:03,960 Speaker 1: not good. And so that that can happen like if 251 00:13:03,960 --> 00:13:07,200 Speaker 1: there's a solar flare or something, or just it can 252 00:13:07,240 --> 00:13:10,319 Speaker 1: happen anytime. It can happen anytime. It's happening all the time. 253 00:13:10,720 --> 00:13:14,000 Speaker 1: Now during solar flares it can happen much more dramatically. 254 00:13:14,480 --> 00:13:16,560 Speaker 1: But we have a shield, right, We have this like 255 00:13:16,800 --> 00:13:20,920 Speaker 1: literal force field in space that mostly protects us from 256 00:13:20,960 --> 00:13:24,160 Speaker 1: this method, and that's our magnetic field. Because most of 257 00:13:24,200 --> 00:13:27,760 Speaker 1: the solar wind are charged particles, protons and electrons, their 258 00:13:27,800 --> 00:13:31,280 Speaker 1: ions were not like being shot by neutral atoms of hydrogen. 259 00:13:31,840 --> 00:13:34,000 Speaker 1: And that means that when they hit a magnetic field, 260 00:13:34,000 --> 00:13:37,559 Speaker 1: they bend. That's what magnetic fields do. And so our 261 00:13:37,600 --> 00:13:40,640 Speaker 1: magnetic field tends to deflect a lot of the solar wind. 262 00:13:40,640 --> 00:13:42,920 Speaker 1: It's like we have a little envelope and the solar 263 00:13:42,960 --> 00:13:46,120 Speaker 1: wind bends around us. But I heard there's a problem 264 00:13:46,200 --> 00:13:50,040 Speaker 1: with polar winds that like that might make them vulnerable. Well, 265 00:13:50,120 --> 00:13:52,839 Speaker 1: the magnetic field is not a perfect bottle, right that 266 00:13:52,960 --> 00:13:55,080 Speaker 1: we have north pole and a south pole, and the 267 00:13:55,120 --> 00:13:57,400 Speaker 1: magnetic field lines come out from the North pole and 268 00:13:57,440 --> 00:13:59,440 Speaker 1: go down to the South pole and want to charge 269 00:13:59,520 --> 00:14:02,199 Speaker 1: particle reaches the magnetic field line, it tends to bend 270 00:14:02,360 --> 00:14:04,920 Speaker 1: left or right depending on its charge. But they can 271 00:14:04,960 --> 00:14:07,640 Speaker 1: move along the field lines, and so what happens is 272 00:14:07,640 --> 00:14:09,280 Speaker 1: that some of them get blown out into space, a 273 00:14:09,280 --> 00:14:11,440 Speaker 1: lot of them, but some of them get funneled along 274 00:14:11,480 --> 00:14:13,480 Speaker 1: those field lines up to the North pole and the 275 00:14:13,520 --> 00:14:16,480 Speaker 1: South pole. And that's what causes the Northern lights and 276 00:14:16,520 --> 00:14:20,120 Speaker 1: the Southern lights is energized particles hitting the atmosphere and 277 00:14:20,160 --> 00:14:22,600 Speaker 1: making it glow. So basically the North Pole in the 278 00:14:22,600 --> 00:14:25,040 Speaker 1: South Pole get a lot more of this cosmic radiation. 279 00:14:25,400 --> 00:14:28,680 Speaker 1: You can get these plumes of gas leaving the atmosphere 280 00:14:28,880 --> 00:14:32,440 Speaker 1: on the North pole and the south leaving, leaving the atmosphere. Yeah, 281 00:14:32,760 --> 00:14:34,320 Speaker 1: just like when you know the solar wind, it hits 282 00:14:34,320 --> 00:14:37,560 Speaker 1: the atmosphere, blows off particles. Most of the Earth is 283 00:14:37,600 --> 00:14:39,960 Speaker 1: protected because of our magnetic field. But it's like we 284 00:14:40,040 --> 00:14:42,360 Speaker 1: have these weak spots in the North Pole, in the 285 00:14:42,400 --> 00:14:45,400 Speaker 1: South Pole, and then then then so there's gas leaving 286 00:14:45,440 --> 00:14:47,200 Speaker 1: the Earth. But then and then it doesn't come back. 287 00:14:47,280 --> 00:14:49,160 Speaker 1: It doesn't come back. You get these big plumes of 288 00:14:49,160 --> 00:14:52,400 Speaker 1: gas and that's because you get really high energy particles 289 00:14:52,480 --> 00:14:55,960 Speaker 1: hitting our atmosphere there where we're not protected and knocking 290 00:14:56,040 --> 00:14:58,040 Speaker 1: particles off, and then and then we lose them forever 291 00:14:58,240 --> 00:15:02,520 Speaker 1: because the Earth moves off forever, the Earth moves on. Yeah, 292 00:15:02,600 --> 00:15:04,320 Speaker 1: and so you take these pictures you can see during 293 00:15:04,360 --> 00:15:07,120 Speaker 1: solar flares especially, but all the time you see these 294 00:15:07,160 --> 00:15:09,680 Speaker 1: plumes of gas being leaked at the north and the south. 295 00:15:10,000 --> 00:15:12,000 Speaker 1: You know, like if we were the death Star, the 296 00:15:12,080 --> 00:15:14,000 Speaker 1: north Pole in the South pole is where you would want, 297 00:15:14,200 --> 00:15:16,200 Speaker 1: you know, to send your ex wing because that's our 298 00:15:16,480 --> 00:15:21,160 Speaker 1: little weakness. Maybe we are maybe we are the Empire, 299 00:15:21,240 --> 00:15:23,040 Speaker 1: Maybe we are the bad Everybody grows up to be 300 00:15:23,040 --> 00:15:25,000 Speaker 1: their parents, right, just like the rebels will grow up 301 00:15:25,040 --> 00:15:26,920 Speaker 1: to be to build their own death star, and then 302 00:15:26,960 --> 00:15:30,280 Speaker 1: they'll realize we're just like our father. Welcome to Daniel 303 00:15:30,400 --> 00:15:35,240 Speaker 1: Jorge process, Daniels daddy issues. But there's there's a bit 304 00:15:35,280 --> 00:15:38,480 Speaker 1: of a controversy here because you know, some people think 305 00:15:38,680 --> 00:15:41,160 Speaker 1: our magnetic field protects us, and that makes sense for 306 00:15:41,200 --> 00:15:44,040 Speaker 1: all the reasons we just talked about. It deflects the particles. 307 00:15:44,120 --> 00:15:47,240 Speaker 1: Some other scientists those say that maybe your magnetic field 308 00:15:47,280 --> 00:15:50,600 Speaker 1: actually sometimes it bends particles towards the planet and it 309 00:15:50,680 --> 00:15:54,680 Speaker 1: ends up focusing it like catches a huge larger swath 310 00:15:54,760 --> 00:15:57,320 Speaker 1: of the solar wind than you otherwise would like. Your 311 00:15:57,320 --> 00:16:00,720 Speaker 1: profile is much larger, focuses all those to shoot down 312 00:16:00,720 --> 00:16:03,440 Speaker 1: near the poles, and you end up losing more atmosphere 313 00:16:03,720 --> 00:16:06,920 Speaker 1: on these polar plumes than you would otherwise. So there's 314 00:16:06,920 --> 00:16:10,400 Speaker 1: a little bit of controversy of whether or not the 315 00:16:10,440 --> 00:16:13,160 Speaker 1: atmosphere is The atmosphere is definitely good for us, but 316 00:16:13,240 --> 00:16:15,400 Speaker 1: there's a bit of a controversy about whether the magnetic 317 00:16:15,440 --> 00:16:19,760 Speaker 1: field is in the end protecting us or or helping 318 00:16:19,800 --> 00:16:23,560 Speaker 1: us lose our atmosphere. I think most scientists think is protection, 319 00:16:23,600 --> 00:16:26,720 Speaker 1: but there is controversy and discussion in the field. In 320 00:16:26,800 --> 00:16:30,880 Speaker 1: the field bump bump. And you know, we should specify 321 00:16:30,960 --> 00:16:34,000 Speaker 1: that Earth has a nice magnetic field, which we think 322 00:16:34,080 --> 00:16:37,040 Speaker 1: mostly protects us. But if you look nearby to Mars, 323 00:16:37,080 --> 00:16:40,960 Speaker 1: for example, Mars doesn't have a magnetic field, and Mars 324 00:16:41,080 --> 00:16:44,760 Speaker 1: is totally vulnerable to solar winds, and every time there's 325 00:16:44,800 --> 00:16:48,040 Speaker 1: a solar flare, there's a huge flux of particles and 326 00:16:48,080 --> 00:16:52,840 Speaker 1: it blows off a lot more of mars atmosphere. Alright, well, 327 00:16:52,920 --> 00:16:55,000 Speaker 1: it sounds like there are a couple of ways in 328 00:16:55,040 --> 00:16:57,000 Speaker 1: which we can lose our atmosphere, and there's one more 329 00:16:57,000 --> 00:17:01,160 Speaker 1: way and then actually some pretty interesting seeing dynamics that 330 00:17:01,320 --> 00:17:03,280 Speaker 1: can happen depending on the size of your planet. So 331 00:17:03,320 --> 00:17:05,560 Speaker 1: let's get into that. But first let's take a quick break, 332 00:17:16,440 --> 00:17:20,240 Speaker 1: all right, Daniel, So our atmosphere is not a given 333 00:17:20,320 --> 00:17:22,680 Speaker 1: in our planet. We can lose it. It can blow 334 00:17:22,720 --> 00:17:24,800 Speaker 1: away by solar winds, but it can also sort of 335 00:17:25,480 --> 00:17:28,520 Speaker 1: explode out of our planet. Yeah, we're talking about impacts 336 00:17:28,520 --> 00:17:31,199 Speaker 1: from like tiny little particles. The solar wind is a 337 00:17:31,320 --> 00:17:34,200 Speaker 1: huge stream of tiny little particles. But you can also 338 00:17:34,240 --> 00:17:37,120 Speaker 1: get hit by bigger stuff, right, like an asteroid. Yeah, 339 00:17:37,200 --> 00:17:40,040 Speaker 1: you see shooting stars at night, that's a huge big 340 00:17:40,119 --> 00:17:42,480 Speaker 1: rock hitting our atmosphere. You know what happens when you 341 00:17:42,520 --> 00:17:44,720 Speaker 1: throw a rock into a pool as you make a splash, 342 00:17:44,840 --> 00:17:47,320 Speaker 1: and so if you throw a big rock into our atmosphere, 343 00:17:47,400 --> 00:17:49,760 Speaker 1: you make a splash and some of that splash drifts 344 00:17:49,760 --> 00:17:53,919 Speaker 1: off into space. Yeah, so it's another way we can 345 00:17:53,960 --> 00:17:56,040 Speaker 1: lose our atmosphere is we get we could get pelted 346 00:17:56,440 --> 00:18:00,359 Speaker 1: by rocks and those blow the atmosphere away. Yeah, you 347 00:18:00,359 --> 00:18:02,720 Speaker 1: can think of the atmosphere is like a cushion or 348 00:18:02,760 --> 00:18:05,400 Speaker 1: like a force field against rocks, right, because it slows 349 00:18:05,440 --> 00:18:07,840 Speaker 1: them down, it heats them up, it it immolates them 350 00:18:07,880 --> 00:18:09,560 Speaker 1: before they hit the surface, which is nice. And that's 351 00:18:09,600 --> 00:18:11,840 Speaker 1: why Earth doesn't have a lot of craters because we 352 00:18:11,880 --> 00:18:15,240 Speaker 1: have this atmosphere. But it's not forever, right, we can 353 00:18:15,359 --> 00:18:17,400 Speaker 1: use it up. If Earth get hits by a lot 354 00:18:17,440 --> 00:18:21,399 Speaker 1: of asteroids, then it depletes the atmosphere unless you're lucky. 355 00:18:21,440 --> 00:18:23,560 Speaker 1: You're unlucky enough to get hit by comets, which are 356 00:18:23,560 --> 00:18:28,040 Speaker 1: actually like cosmic snowballs that can deliver water or gas 357 00:18:28,080 --> 00:18:30,840 Speaker 1: when they melt in your atmosphere. And you know, this 358 00:18:30,920 --> 00:18:33,719 Speaker 1: is not a big factor today, but we don't know. 359 00:18:34,040 --> 00:18:36,399 Speaker 1: Some people think that this was a big factor in 360 00:18:36,480 --> 00:18:40,040 Speaker 1: how Mars lost its atmosphere not just to the solar wind, 361 00:18:40,280 --> 00:18:42,840 Speaker 1: but also to a lot of impacts. Well, I guess 362 00:18:42,840 --> 00:18:45,040 Speaker 1: it's kind of a runaway effect, like if you start 363 00:18:45,080 --> 00:18:47,399 Speaker 1: to lose it because of one thing, then you have 364 00:18:47,480 --> 00:18:50,760 Speaker 1: less protection against the other kind. Yeah, exactly. And the 365 00:18:50,840 --> 00:18:53,600 Speaker 1: estimates are that Mars lost more than two thirds or 366 00:18:53,600 --> 00:18:56,720 Speaker 1: its atmosphere due to either impacts or the solar winds, 367 00:18:57,000 --> 00:18:59,600 Speaker 1: and that solar wind effect is called sputtering by the 368 00:18:59,640 --> 00:19:02,520 Speaker 1: signs is and so early on they think that that's 369 00:19:02,720 --> 00:19:05,439 Speaker 1: that's the dominant way that Mars lost its atmosphere, but 370 00:19:05,480 --> 00:19:09,720 Speaker 1: today there's actually something else going on on Mars. Al right, Well, 371 00:19:09,960 --> 00:19:12,000 Speaker 1: it sounds like these are kind of maybe the basic 372 00:19:12,040 --> 00:19:14,880 Speaker 1: ways in which you can lose your atmosphere, but there 373 00:19:14,880 --> 00:19:18,200 Speaker 1: are sort of two new ways maybe that people are 374 00:19:18,200 --> 00:19:21,959 Speaker 1: thinking about, right, like depending on the size of your planet. 375 00:19:22,040 --> 00:19:24,480 Speaker 1: And one of them is kind of this interesting new 376 00:19:24,480 --> 00:19:27,640 Speaker 1: study that maybe planets can eat their atmosphere. That's right, Yeah, 377 00:19:27,680 --> 00:19:29,639 Speaker 1: we'll get to that in a little bit. But it 378 00:19:29,720 --> 00:19:31,760 Speaker 1: turns out that the way that Earth is losing its 379 00:19:31,760 --> 00:19:35,800 Speaker 1: atmosphere is mostly not due to polar wind or solar 380 00:19:35,840 --> 00:19:38,800 Speaker 1: wind or meteor impact it's something wait wait wait wait 381 00:19:38,800 --> 00:19:41,080 Speaker 1: wait wait wait wait, So we are losing our atmosphere. 382 00:19:41,119 --> 00:19:44,439 Speaker 1: We are losing our atmosphere. Yes, really, as as we 383 00:19:44,480 --> 00:19:47,560 Speaker 1: speak right now, we have less atmosphere right now than 384 00:19:47,680 --> 00:19:50,560 Speaker 1: before we started talking. Oh. Man, see I knew, I knew. 385 00:19:50,840 --> 00:19:53,960 Speaker 1: We're just blowing hot air here, Daniel. And that's making 386 00:19:54,000 --> 00:19:57,679 Speaker 1: it worse because the reason Earth is losing its atmosphere 387 00:19:57,760 --> 00:20:01,359 Speaker 1: is that it's literally just boiling off the planet it wow, Okay, 388 00:20:01,400 --> 00:20:03,800 Speaker 1: so step us three here. So if the planet is 389 00:20:03,880 --> 00:20:08,160 Speaker 1: too small, you're saying, the atmosphere can just gradually boil away. 390 00:20:08,200 --> 00:20:10,280 Speaker 1: And that means kind of like when you put water 391 00:20:10,400 --> 00:20:12,840 Speaker 1: on the stove, the particles that are on the surface 392 00:20:12,880 --> 00:20:15,800 Speaker 1: that you get energized and they fly away. Yeah, it's 393 00:20:15,800 --> 00:20:17,879 Speaker 1: that kind of what would Yeah, just like you know, 394 00:20:18,280 --> 00:20:21,800 Speaker 1: water evaporates from a puddle, right, our atmosphere can just 395 00:20:21,840 --> 00:20:24,960 Speaker 1: evaporate off into space. What is keeping the atmosphere on 396 00:20:24,960 --> 00:20:27,639 Speaker 1: the planet is only gravity. So if your planet is 397 00:20:27,680 --> 00:20:30,920 Speaker 1: too small, like, the smaller your planet is, the harder 398 00:20:30,960 --> 00:20:34,040 Speaker 1: time it has hanging onto its atmosphere. Like why does 399 00:20:34,080 --> 00:20:37,120 Speaker 1: the Moon have no atmosphere? Well, it's basically just too 400 00:20:37,160 --> 00:20:40,119 Speaker 1: small to hold onto anything. Even if we created an 401 00:20:40,160 --> 00:20:43,159 Speaker 1: atmosphere and shipped it to the Moon and put it 402 00:20:43,200 --> 00:20:45,600 Speaker 1: on there, it would just drift away in you know, 403 00:20:45,720 --> 00:20:48,320 Speaker 1: tens of years. Really, it would just drift away. It 404 00:20:48,359 --> 00:20:50,399 Speaker 1: would just it would hang out for a bit for 405 00:20:50,560 --> 00:20:53,000 Speaker 1: but eventually would it would all evaporate? Yeah? Well, the 406 00:20:53,080 --> 00:20:55,160 Speaker 1: same laws of physics that applied to you have also 407 00:20:55,200 --> 00:20:57,800 Speaker 1: applied to little particles. And just like how it's easier 408 00:20:57,880 --> 00:21:00,320 Speaker 1: to leave the surface of the Moon, take a run 409 00:21:00,320 --> 00:21:02,119 Speaker 1: and a jump and you could float off into space. 410 00:21:02,440 --> 00:21:05,000 Speaker 1: Where that's is that true? Okay? Well not really. I 411 00:21:05,040 --> 00:21:07,119 Speaker 1: mean you'd have to be super strong. You have to 412 00:21:07,119 --> 00:21:10,040 Speaker 1: go like two kilometers per second. So I guess if 413 00:21:10,040 --> 00:21:14,800 Speaker 1: you're iron man, maybe if you had any athletic ability, 414 00:21:15,160 --> 00:21:17,240 Speaker 1: for hey, you would be able to drop off off 415 00:21:17,240 --> 00:21:19,800 Speaker 1: of Mars the moon. Mars will be much harder to 416 00:21:19,840 --> 00:21:22,720 Speaker 1: jump off of the Moon might be possible, But the 417 00:21:22,760 --> 00:21:25,680 Speaker 1: same is true of little particles. Right, Earth is much 418 00:21:25,720 --> 00:21:29,280 Speaker 1: better holding onto little particles than Mars is. Then the 419 00:21:29,320 --> 00:21:32,520 Speaker 1: Moon is right and Jupiter much much better. And so 420 00:21:32,560 --> 00:21:34,520 Speaker 1: if your planet is too small, it's just hard to 421 00:21:34,560 --> 00:21:37,719 Speaker 1: hold onto your atmosphere. Interesting, but I guess you know, 422 00:21:38,160 --> 00:21:40,320 Speaker 1: if even if things float away, why wouldn't they just 423 00:21:40,359 --> 00:21:42,680 Speaker 1: come back due to gravity, because is it because we're 424 00:21:42,720 --> 00:21:45,000 Speaker 1: moving through space and we sort of miss it. Well, 425 00:21:45,040 --> 00:21:46,880 Speaker 1: once things float away, they don't come back. I mean 426 00:21:46,880 --> 00:21:49,960 Speaker 1: that's what escape velocity is, right. Escape velocities how much 427 00:21:49,960 --> 00:21:53,040 Speaker 1: speed you need to essentially be able to neglect the 428 00:21:53,080 --> 00:21:56,200 Speaker 1: gravity of that object. Like if you shoot a satellite 429 00:21:56,240 --> 00:21:59,320 Speaker 1: off into space and it reaches escape velocity, it doesn't 430 00:21:59,320 --> 00:22:01,760 Speaker 1: come back like voyage or whatever. Isn't just on its 431 00:22:01,760 --> 00:22:04,679 Speaker 1: way back. It's got some trajectory away from us, and 432 00:22:04,720 --> 00:22:07,640 Speaker 1: the gravitational power is just weakening and weakening and weakening. 433 00:22:08,119 --> 00:22:11,040 Speaker 1: And in the same way, if a particle has enough 434 00:22:11,160 --> 00:22:14,240 Speaker 1: velocity to leave the Earth's atmosphere, there's no reason for 435 00:22:14,280 --> 00:22:16,320 Speaker 1: it to come back unless it gets deflected, it bounces 436 00:22:16,320 --> 00:22:18,960 Speaker 1: off the moon or you know that alien mother ship 437 00:22:19,000 --> 00:22:22,000 Speaker 1: that's orbit orbiting quietly for the last few years. Okay, 438 00:22:22,000 --> 00:22:24,360 Speaker 1: so then it would help to be heavier because then 439 00:22:24,400 --> 00:22:26,760 Speaker 1: you can keep more of your atmosphere, that's right. So 440 00:22:26,880 --> 00:22:29,960 Speaker 1: lighter planets tend to lose their atmosphere, and we also 441 00:22:30,000 --> 00:22:32,520 Speaker 1: tend to lose different gases at different rates, like we 442 00:22:32,640 --> 00:22:36,040 Speaker 1: lose hydrogen on Earth and helium, but we don't lose 443 00:22:36,080 --> 00:22:39,800 Speaker 1: oxygen nearly as much because oxygen is heavier, and so 444 00:22:40,200 --> 00:22:43,000 Speaker 1: that's why it falls to the bottom. Well, that's why 445 00:22:43,040 --> 00:22:46,159 Speaker 1: Earth has very little hydrogen naturally occurring in our atmosphere 446 00:22:46,400 --> 00:22:49,960 Speaker 1: because morbid bubbles away, whereas the heavier stuff, you know, 447 00:22:50,119 --> 00:22:53,520 Speaker 1: xenon or oxygen or neon. That stuff is heavier, and 448 00:22:53,600 --> 00:22:56,640 Speaker 1: Mars doesn't have the gravity to hold onto the same 449 00:22:56,720 --> 00:22:59,359 Speaker 1: kind of things that we can, and so water vapor, 450 00:22:59,400 --> 00:23:02,800 Speaker 1: for example, on Mars can easily reach escape velocity, whereas 451 00:23:02,840 --> 00:23:05,560 Speaker 1: Earth has enough gravity to hold onto it because Mars 452 00:23:05,640 --> 00:23:08,199 Speaker 1: is smaller than Earth. Mars is a lot smaller than 453 00:23:08,240 --> 00:23:11,400 Speaker 1: Earth and it has weaker gravity. And so today the 454 00:23:11,440 --> 00:23:15,080 Speaker 1: dominant process for how Mars is losing its atmosphere is 455 00:23:15,080 --> 00:23:17,760 Speaker 1: not sputtering. It's not the solar wind. It's actually just 456 00:23:17,880 --> 00:23:21,639 Speaker 1: being boiled off. And Mars is still losing its atmosphere 457 00:23:21,800 --> 00:23:24,600 Speaker 1: at a rate of like one and a half kis 458 00:23:24,640 --> 00:23:27,560 Speaker 1: per second. We need to kind of like a put 459 00:23:27,560 --> 00:23:30,800 Speaker 1: a lit on it, I guess. So, I mean, if 460 00:23:30,800 --> 00:23:32,760 Speaker 1: we're ever going to move to Mars, we need to 461 00:23:32,800 --> 00:23:35,199 Speaker 1: provide a new atmosphere, and then we need to somehow 462 00:23:35,200 --> 00:23:38,280 Speaker 1: prevent it from just leaving, right. We talked about terraforming, 463 00:23:38,560 --> 00:23:41,560 Speaker 1: needing some sort of like huge new magnetic field to 464 00:23:41,680 --> 00:23:44,679 Speaker 1: prevent sputtering to prevent the solar wind from blowing that 465 00:23:44,720 --> 00:23:46,960 Speaker 1: atmosphere way, but we also need to sort of just 466 00:23:47,320 --> 00:23:49,879 Speaker 1: keep it somehow on there. Yeah, although of course the 467 00:23:49,920 --> 00:23:53,360 Speaker 1: process of atmosphere loss on Mars is very slow, so 468 00:23:53,600 --> 00:23:56,359 Speaker 1: your new atmosphere would stick around for a long time 469 00:23:56,400 --> 00:23:58,760 Speaker 1: before actually getting blown away. And so I don't know 470 00:23:58,760 --> 00:24:00,760 Speaker 1: if you've seen spaceballs or emper, but they have this 471 00:24:01,200 --> 00:24:04,680 Speaker 1: huge planet wide envelope to keep their atmosphere in place, 472 00:24:05,160 --> 00:24:10,600 Speaker 1: no waste. Baseballs foresaw this situation thirty years ago. Spaceballs 473 00:24:10,640 --> 00:24:12,439 Speaker 1: could foresee the future. I was trying to come up 474 00:24:12,440 --> 00:24:16,200 Speaker 1: with a quote from the movie, but I can't. That's ludicrous. 475 00:24:16,400 --> 00:24:18,720 Speaker 1: That's there, you go. And so that's how Mars is 476 00:24:18,760 --> 00:24:20,840 Speaker 1: losing it tout this yere now right, These hot gases 477 00:24:20,920 --> 00:24:23,320 Speaker 1: basically just boil off. The same thing is happening here 478 00:24:23,320 --> 00:24:26,080 Speaker 1: on Earth. So we're so we're losing our atmosphere. That's 479 00:24:26,280 --> 00:24:31,080 Speaker 1: shocking news. Every every breath we take there's less air. Yeah, 480 00:24:31,200 --> 00:24:33,800 Speaker 1: and it's not at a tiny rate like Earth is 481 00:24:33,880 --> 00:24:38,520 Speaker 1: losing three kilograms per second of hydrogen fifty grams per 482 00:24:38,560 --> 00:24:41,399 Speaker 1: second of helio and so this adds up, you know, 483 00:24:41,520 --> 00:24:44,320 Speaker 1: to like tons and tons of gases every year per 484 00:24:44,480 --> 00:24:48,120 Speaker 1: second three kilograms, how much is that? Like a teaspoon? 485 00:24:49,280 --> 00:24:52,679 Speaker 1: M a kilogram is a leader of water, right, So 486 00:24:52,800 --> 00:24:57,000 Speaker 1: we're losing three liters of water is worth of hydrogen 487 00:24:57,040 --> 00:25:00,760 Speaker 1: every second. Every second, it's just boiling out into space. 488 00:25:01,840 --> 00:25:05,600 Speaker 1: Where where are people not more alarmed? Well, you know, 489 00:25:05,680 --> 00:25:08,360 Speaker 1: we have a lot of hydrogen. Unfortunately, we're a big planet. 490 00:25:08,760 --> 00:25:12,520 Speaker 1: And it turns out that by the time we lose 491 00:25:12,640 --> 00:25:15,280 Speaker 1: most of our hydrogen, other things will have happened. Like 492 00:25:15,480 --> 00:25:18,440 Speaker 1: we think in about a billion years, by the time 493 00:25:18,480 --> 00:25:21,159 Speaker 1: we've lost significant atmosphere, you know, the sun will be 494 00:25:21,200 --> 00:25:24,560 Speaker 1: ten brighter than it is today. And at that point 495 00:25:24,600 --> 00:25:27,639 Speaker 1: we'll have other big problems. For example, you'll heat the 496 00:25:27,640 --> 00:25:30,400 Speaker 1: planet up and the oceans will boil and break into 497 00:25:30,440 --> 00:25:33,440 Speaker 1: water vapor, and probably all that hydrogen will also get 498 00:25:33,440 --> 00:25:36,919 Speaker 1: lost into space. But all right, we're talking a billion 499 00:25:37,000 --> 00:25:39,159 Speaker 1: years until we have to worry about Yes, exactly. You 500 00:25:39,160 --> 00:25:41,320 Speaker 1: don't need to worry about your kids having enough air 501 00:25:41,359 --> 00:25:44,119 Speaker 1: to breathe, or your kids kids or your kids, kids, kids. 502 00:25:44,440 --> 00:25:46,159 Speaker 1: It's it's a lot of generation. I think in that 503 00:25:46,240 --> 00:25:50,440 Speaker 1: time scale, wouldn't we evolve probably to breathe differently? Right 504 00:25:50,480 --> 00:25:53,400 Speaker 1: in a billion years to biology would probably adapt. Yeah, 505 00:25:53,600 --> 00:25:56,480 Speaker 1: perhaps we would. Perhaps we could breathe differently, or perhaps 506 00:25:56,560 --> 00:25:58,879 Speaker 1: we will have just left this rock and explore the 507 00:25:58,960 --> 00:26:01,720 Speaker 1: universe and found other places to live. Or we could 508 00:26:01,760 --> 00:26:05,760 Speaker 1: do you know, geoengineering and protect the Earth from getting 509 00:26:05,800 --> 00:26:10,240 Speaker 1: hotter and fabricate new new hydrogen, new oxygen and and 510 00:26:10,320 --> 00:26:14,080 Speaker 1: you know, curate microbe that can produce more oxygen as 511 00:26:14,119 --> 00:26:16,240 Speaker 1: we need it. Or something like a billion years is 512 00:26:16,280 --> 00:26:19,040 Speaker 1: a long time to figure this stuff out. I mean, 513 00:26:19,080 --> 00:26:21,440 Speaker 1: who knows. Maybe in a year, physicist bal end the 514 00:26:21,520 --> 00:26:26,080 Speaker 1: year the planet all by ourselves with plenty of eric despair. 515 00:26:26,680 --> 00:26:31,160 Speaker 1: You sound like you're rooting for that option, and I'm 516 00:26:31,200 --> 00:26:34,720 Speaker 1: just trying to so I'm just trying to prepare mentally, Daniel, 517 00:26:34,760 --> 00:26:37,439 Speaker 1: so it doesn't surprise me. I see. This is a 518 00:26:37,480 --> 00:26:41,600 Speaker 1: classic relationship technique. It's called pre assignment of blame. This 519 00:26:41,680 --> 00:26:44,240 Speaker 1: happens we agree it's your fault that we don't have 520 00:26:44,280 --> 00:26:45,840 Speaker 1: to argue about it. I see you're a big fan 521 00:26:45,880 --> 00:26:47,880 Speaker 1: of that, right, I'm a big fan of pre assignment 522 00:26:47,880 --> 00:26:52,800 Speaker 1: of blame. Yes, well, if it does happen, we'll blame me. Yes, 523 00:26:52,880 --> 00:26:54,720 Speaker 1: you can come to my house after I destroy the 524 00:26:54,720 --> 00:26:58,879 Speaker 1: Earth and shout at me with plenty of air to 525 00:26:58,920 --> 00:27:03,320 Speaker 1: shout at you. Fortunately. Right, So boiling off gases is 526 00:27:03,359 --> 00:27:06,560 Speaker 1: basically what's happening here on Earth now, and it's now 527 00:27:06,560 --> 00:27:09,480 Speaker 1: the dominant process on Mars also because the atmosphere is 528 00:27:09,560 --> 00:27:12,719 Speaker 1: much more dilute there, and so this is something I 529 00:27:12,760 --> 00:27:15,080 Speaker 1: wasn't even really aware of that this is a big 530 00:27:15,119 --> 00:27:17,800 Speaker 1: factor in how you can lose your atmosphere. And so 531 00:27:17,840 --> 00:27:20,760 Speaker 1: all of this is if your planet is small or 532 00:27:20,760 --> 00:27:23,040 Speaker 1: too small to kind of have enough gravity to keep 533 00:27:23,080 --> 00:27:26,439 Speaker 1: it all in, and so other things can happen if 534 00:27:26,480 --> 00:27:30,040 Speaker 1: your planet is too big. So we'll get into that, 535 00:27:30,160 --> 00:27:44,800 Speaker 1: but first let's take a quick break. All right, Daniel, 536 00:27:44,800 --> 00:27:48,080 Speaker 1: we're losing our atmosphere, but it's not something to worry about. 537 00:27:48,119 --> 00:27:50,840 Speaker 1: It's it's happening very slowly, maybe in a billion years, 538 00:27:50,960 --> 00:27:53,440 Speaker 1: but by then we have other things to worry about. 539 00:27:53,520 --> 00:27:55,440 Speaker 1: But there's a new study you were telling me earlier 540 00:27:55,600 --> 00:27:58,359 Speaker 1: that talks about what can happen if your planet is 541 00:27:58,480 --> 00:28:01,159 Speaker 1: too big, Because apparently you can lose your atmosphere in 542 00:28:01,200 --> 00:28:03,560 Speaker 1: other ways if you are to be Yeah. Well, first 543 00:28:03,600 --> 00:28:06,120 Speaker 1: of all, the title of this study is awesome. It's 544 00:28:06,119 --> 00:28:10,240 Speaker 1: called Why Planets Eat their Own Skies and will include 545 00:28:10,240 --> 00:28:12,680 Speaker 1: a link to the study in the episode of information 546 00:28:12,720 --> 00:28:15,440 Speaker 1: that you can read it for yourself. It's from Stanford. Yeah, 547 00:28:15,680 --> 00:28:17,879 Speaker 1: not a bad school. I hear it's a junior college. 548 00:28:17,920 --> 00:28:22,000 Speaker 1: So I hear they give PSDs to cartoonists as well, 549 00:28:23,000 --> 00:28:25,520 Speaker 1: So yeah they do. It's been on a down cycle 550 00:28:25,520 --> 00:28:29,160 Speaker 1: ever since, then, said the Berkeley graduate. Of course, Man, 551 00:28:29,240 --> 00:28:32,520 Speaker 1: go cow, go col Cow. How many football games have 552 00:28:32,560 --> 00:28:34,159 Speaker 1: you been to with Cal Danny? Oh, I've been to 553 00:28:34,160 --> 00:28:36,080 Speaker 1: a lot. Yeah, No, football games are a lot of fun. 554 00:28:36,560 --> 00:28:39,280 Speaker 1: Were a little encapsulation of the old bear rivalry right 555 00:28:39,320 --> 00:28:42,600 Speaker 1: here on Oh man, it's it's scientists versus engineers. It's 556 00:28:42,920 --> 00:28:47,400 Speaker 1: Cal versus Stanford. What else, bananas versus not bananas. That's right. 557 00:28:47,760 --> 00:28:50,720 Speaker 1: We satisfy all of your rivalry needs here on the program. 558 00:28:51,640 --> 00:28:54,240 Speaker 1: You know this. Lots of people contributed this study, not 559 00:28:54,320 --> 00:28:56,719 Speaker 1: just from Stanford. It was led by Edwin Kite at 560 00:28:56,720 --> 00:28:59,680 Speaker 1: the University of Chicago, and they noticed something really interesting, 561 00:28:59,680 --> 00:29:02,520 Speaker 1: they know, is that when we see other planets in 562 00:29:02,680 --> 00:29:05,040 Speaker 1: other solar systems, which is now this thing we can 563 00:29:05,080 --> 00:29:07,800 Speaker 1: do right as we can look at planets going around 564 00:29:07,840 --> 00:29:12,040 Speaker 1: other stars, and we can measure two things about those planets. 565 00:29:12,080 --> 00:29:14,920 Speaker 1: We can measure their mass and we can measure their radius, 566 00:29:15,600 --> 00:29:18,360 Speaker 1: and that tells us like roughly what's going on in 567 00:29:18,400 --> 00:29:20,680 Speaker 1: those planets. We can tell like how dense they are 568 00:29:21,000 --> 00:29:23,560 Speaker 1: based on the mass and the radius information. And so 569 00:29:23,600 --> 00:29:25,360 Speaker 1: the radius we can tell by looking at it, but 570 00:29:25,440 --> 00:29:28,040 Speaker 1: the mass we tell by either orbits or something. Yeah. 571 00:29:28,120 --> 00:29:30,719 Speaker 1: You can tell the radius by like how much of 572 00:29:30,760 --> 00:29:33,480 Speaker 1: the star's light is being blocked, and you can tell 573 00:29:33,480 --> 00:29:37,080 Speaker 1: the planet mass by how much it makes its star wiggle. Oh. 574 00:29:37,280 --> 00:29:39,920 Speaker 1: This is a study of exoplanets out there in space. 575 00:29:41,680 --> 00:29:44,040 Speaker 1: And what they noticed is that they see a bunch 576 00:29:44,040 --> 00:29:46,959 Speaker 1: of planets sort of Earth sized, and they see a 577 00:29:47,000 --> 00:29:49,960 Speaker 1: bunch of gas giants. But there's kind of a gap, 578 00:29:50,120 --> 00:29:52,480 Speaker 1: like you go up to about like three times the 579 00:29:52,520 --> 00:29:54,960 Speaker 1: size of the Earth what they call, you know, Neptune 580 00:29:55,000 --> 00:29:58,040 Speaker 1: sized planets, and then bigger than that, there's like a gap. 581 00:29:58,040 --> 00:30:01,959 Speaker 1: There's no like planets in between Neptune size and Jupiter size, 582 00:30:02,440 --> 00:30:04,160 Speaker 1: and naturally you would expect sort of like you know, 583 00:30:04,200 --> 00:30:07,280 Speaker 1: a big continuum. You expect like a smooth distribution that 584 00:30:07,320 --> 00:30:11,440 Speaker 1: their planet is everywhere. Yeah, like a big rocks, smaller rocks, rocks. 585 00:30:11,480 --> 00:30:14,160 Speaker 1: But you're saying that there's a gap there. There's just 586 00:30:14,280 --> 00:30:16,960 Speaker 1: cut off before the gas giants and after sort of 587 00:30:17,000 --> 00:30:20,080 Speaker 1: the Neptunes or the super Earth's. And they were trying 588 00:30:20,120 --> 00:30:22,880 Speaker 1: to understand why, and it turns out that they came 589 00:30:22,960 --> 00:30:25,720 Speaker 1: up with this cool explanation that if a planet gets 590 00:30:25,760 --> 00:30:28,400 Speaker 1: big enough but not too big, and it has a 591 00:30:28,520 --> 00:30:31,440 Speaker 1: rocky surface, then that rocky surfaces like lava, so you 592 00:30:31,480 --> 00:30:35,120 Speaker 1: have like flava flowing on this hot surface, then it 593 00:30:35,200 --> 00:30:38,680 Speaker 1: can actually absorb its own sky. The gas in the 594 00:30:38,680 --> 00:30:42,960 Speaker 1: atmosphere gets sucked into these oceans of liquid magma because 595 00:30:42,960 --> 00:30:45,880 Speaker 1: of the gravity. Well, the gravity is certainly part of it, right, 596 00:30:46,080 --> 00:30:48,440 Speaker 1: But that's not happening on Jupiter, right. Jupiter also has 597 00:30:48,440 --> 00:30:52,760 Speaker 1: a lot of gravity but still has vast atmospheres of gas. 598 00:30:52,800 --> 00:30:56,560 Speaker 1: But it's something about this chemical interaction between the liquid 599 00:30:56,600 --> 00:30:59,400 Speaker 1: magma ocean and the gas in the atmosphere. Oh, I see, 600 00:30:59,480 --> 00:31:01,600 Speaker 1: And you're saying doesn't happen on Earth because we don't 601 00:31:01,680 --> 00:31:06,320 Speaker 1: have magma and lava on our surface, because we are 602 00:31:06,320 --> 00:31:09,200 Speaker 1: what not hot enough or not heavy enough. Both you 603 00:31:09,240 --> 00:31:11,080 Speaker 1: need the liquid magma on the surface, and then you 604 00:31:11,120 --> 00:31:13,320 Speaker 1: also need more gravity because you need the pressure. You 605 00:31:13,360 --> 00:31:16,360 Speaker 1: need the gas to be like squeezed down onto this 606 00:31:16,440 --> 00:31:19,320 Speaker 1: liquid magma that can sort of force it into it. 607 00:31:19,760 --> 00:31:22,480 Speaker 1: And so they find that basically these planets just eat 608 00:31:22,520 --> 00:31:25,520 Speaker 1: their atmosphere that stops them from growing bigger. Like, the 609 00:31:25,600 --> 00:31:28,880 Speaker 1: reason Jupiter is so big is because a huge part 610 00:31:28,920 --> 00:31:32,000 Speaker 1: of it is its atmosphere. Right on Earth, point to 611 00:31:32,320 --> 00:31:34,800 Speaker 1: five of the radius of the Earth is the atmosphere. 612 00:31:35,040 --> 00:31:37,400 Speaker 1: Jupiter is like a third or a half of Jupiter 613 00:31:37,520 --> 00:31:40,760 Speaker 1: is atmosphere. Okay, so you're saying that, like, we see 614 00:31:40,760 --> 00:31:43,120 Speaker 1: planets out there, and they get bigger and bigger in 615 00:31:43,240 --> 00:31:45,200 Speaker 1: terms of the size, but we don't know how big 616 00:31:45,200 --> 00:31:47,520 Speaker 1: the rock inside of them are, but you sort of 617 00:31:47,560 --> 00:31:50,200 Speaker 1: see the size. And so at some point if the 618 00:31:50,240 --> 00:31:54,480 Speaker 1: Earth suddenly grew in rocky nous in size, you're saying 619 00:31:54,520 --> 00:31:57,640 Speaker 1: that at some point the first of all, the surface 620 00:31:57,640 --> 00:31:59,880 Speaker 1: of Earth would turn into lava or that's not necessary, 621 00:32:00,000 --> 00:32:03,040 Speaker 1: it's necessary for this to happen. I think in these larger, 622 00:32:03,160 --> 00:32:07,080 Speaker 1: rockier planets, it's hotter, right, is more pressure because there's 623 00:32:07,120 --> 00:32:10,320 Speaker 1: more gravity and so the surface is more likely to 624 00:32:10,320 --> 00:32:14,400 Speaker 1: be magma, and then that pressure squeezes the gas down 625 00:32:14,520 --> 00:32:17,760 Speaker 1: onto the surface of that magma and basically forces it 626 00:32:17,800 --> 00:32:20,920 Speaker 1: in and it gets it dissolved in into the lava 627 00:32:21,000 --> 00:32:23,560 Speaker 1: I see, into the like it traps. Yeah, so you 628 00:32:23,600 --> 00:32:31,120 Speaker 1: get like carbonated lava, like sparkling lava, sparkling lava. It's 629 00:32:31,160 --> 00:32:33,680 Speaker 1: like mountain dew, but literally made out of mountain. There's 630 00:32:33,680 --> 00:32:36,160 Speaker 1: this whole new beverage trend, you know, sparkling water and 631 00:32:36,200 --> 00:32:39,520 Speaker 1: sparkling this and sparkling that. Nobody has thought about selling. 632 00:32:39,640 --> 00:32:44,240 Speaker 1: Sparkling lava, sparkling lava. Well, there you go. That's that's 633 00:32:44,240 --> 00:32:47,320 Speaker 1: the new market. Yeah exactly. And so basically it forces 634 00:32:47,400 --> 00:32:50,320 Speaker 1: you know, the gravity and the pressure forces the gas 635 00:32:50,360 --> 00:32:52,920 Speaker 1: into the rock, and that keeps the planet from really 636 00:32:52,960 --> 00:32:55,360 Speaker 1: growing inside because when your planet, you get to count 637 00:32:55,720 --> 00:32:59,080 Speaker 1: the extent of your atmosphere as part of the planet. Right, 638 00:32:59,520 --> 00:33:01,960 Speaker 1: And so where are the planets that are just bigger rocks? 639 00:33:02,000 --> 00:33:03,960 Speaker 1: Why is there a gap or are they saying that 640 00:33:04,080 --> 00:33:08,000 Speaker 1: suddenly at some point the planets grow in size because 641 00:33:08,000 --> 00:33:10,320 Speaker 1: of their atmosphere, not because of the rock. Planets grow 642 00:33:10,320 --> 00:33:12,800 Speaker 1: in size because of their atmosphere. Like the way to 643 00:33:12,840 --> 00:33:15,760 Speaker 1: get a really big planet is to have a small 644 00:33:16,120 --> 00:33:19,000 Speaker 1: icy core and then accumulate a lot of gas. You 645 00:33:19,000 --> 00:33:21,880 Speaker 1: accumulate too much rock, then you can't really grow anymore 646 00:33:22,360 --> 00:33:24,920 Speaker 1: because you can't attract anymore gas. But why can't I 647 00:33:24,920 --> 00:33:29,760 Speaker 1: just have a Jupiter size rock floating around the Solar System? 648 00:33:29,760 --> 00:33:31,920 Speaker 1: You know, I didn't say you couldn't. Go ahead, like 649 00:33:32,040 --> 00:33:36,360 Speaker 1: do whatever you like. You can, you can, you can, 650 00:33:36,440 --> 00:33:38,400 Speaker 1: but you know, there's just not that much rock. Like 651 00:33:38,520 --> 00:33:41,160 Speaker 1: most of the material in the Solar System is gas, 652 00:33:41,600 --> 00:33:43,440 Speaker 1: So if you want to get big, you got to 653 00:33:43,640 --> 00:33:45,640 Speaker 1: include that in your budget. So like, if you just 654 00:33:45,680 --> 00:33:48,400 Speaker 1: look at rocky centers, they maybe taper off, like they 655 00:33:48,440 --> 00:33:50,720 Speaker 1: get bigger, bigger about the Earth, the size of Earth, 656 00:33:50,760 --> 00:33:52,520 Speaker 1: three times the size of Earth, and then they don't. 657 00:33:52,600 --> 00:33:55,040 Speaker 1: They don't. You don't see them get bigger. But you 658 00:33:55,080 --> 00:33:57,160 Speaker 1: do see planets get bigger because then they start to 659 00:33:57,160 --> 00:34:00,160 Speaker 1: accumulate atmosphere. Yeah, that's right. But if your rocky or 660 00:34:00,240 --> 00:34:02,960 Speaker 1: is too big, then it can prevent you from growing 661 00:34:02,960 --> 00:34:05,320 Speaker 1: a big atmosphere because it can suck it into the 662 00:34:05,400 --> 00:34:08,880 Speaker 1: liquid magma in the core. I see, all right, So 663 00:34:09,000 --> 00:34:11,600 Speaker 1: probably the bigger planets we see out in the universe. There, 664 00:34:11,600 --> 00:34:13,839 Speaker 1: they don't have a rocky center bigger than ours. They 665 00:34:13,880 --> 00:34:17,120 Speaker 1: have smaller rocky nuggets inside, but they're bigger because of 666 00:34:17,120 --> 00:34:20,040 Speaker 1: the gas, and adding enough gas can turn any rocky 667 00:34:20,080 --> 00:34:23,040 Speaker 1: object into a gas giant. We don't really know the 668 00:34:23,200 --> 00:34:25,560 Speaker 1: size of the rocky cores and some of the big 669 00:34:25,600 --> 00:34:29,360 Speaker 1: gas giants in exoplanet systems, but most of the volume 670 00:34:29,520 --> 00:34:31,680 Speaker 1: is gas. That's why they are bigger. And if you 671 00:34:31,719 --> 00:34:34,880 Speaker 1: look at the internal structure of Jupiter, it has a rocky, 672 00:34:35,080 --> 00:34:37,359 Speaker 1: icy core, but it's pretty small. You know, it's not 673 00:34:37,760 --> 00:34:41,600 Speaker 1: enormously vast. After that, it's like metallic hydrogen and all 674 00:34:41,600 --> 00:34:44,080 Speaker 1: these things because of the high pressure and then vast, 675 00:34:44,200 --> 00:34:47,279 Speaker 1: vast clouds of just gaseous hydrogen, and that's the way 676 00:34:47,320 --> 00:34:49,879 Speaker 1: to go. But you know, there's even still a lot 677 00:34:49,920 --> 00:34:52,960 Speaker 1: of questions about how planets like Jupiter form, Like how 678 00:34:52,960 --> 00:34:55,840 Speaker 1: do you get so much gas accumulated. You need to 679 00:34:55,880 --> 00:34:59,120 Speaker 1: have some sort of rocky core that forms rapidly enough 680 00:34:59,160 --> 00:35:01,880 Speaker 1: that has time to accumulate all that gas because the 681 00:35:01,880 --> 00:35:04,320 Speaker 1: gas is pretty light, and so it takes a while 682 00:35:04,440 --> 00:35:07,319 Speaker 1: for gravity to gather that together. So we're still learning 683 00:35:07,400 --> 00:35:09,879 Speaker 1: about how all these planets form you know, in ten 684 00:35:09,960 --> 00:35:12,440 Speaker 1: years we could have a lot of new ideas for 685 00:35:12,520 --> 00:35:14,880 Speaker 1: how any of these planets form. And I think we 686 00:35:14,920 --> 00:35:18,800 Speaker 1: talked on another podcast about like should Jupiter sized planets 687 00:35:18,800 --> 00:35:21,200 Speaker 1: form always in the outer Solar System or only in 688 00:35:21,239 --> 00:35:24,120 Speaker 1: the inner Solar System? You know? Can they move back 689 00:35:24,160 --> 00:35:27,240 Speaker 1: and forth? And so we're learning so much about our 690 00:35:27,239 --> 00:35:29,600 Speaker 1: planet and other planets and how it all puts together 691 00:35:29,960 --> 00:35:32,919 Speaker 1: just by studying other Solar systems. It's it's a fascinating time. 692 00:35:33,480 --> 00:35:36,520 Speaker 1: And so they call it eating your atmosphere, eating your sky, 693 00:35:36,680 --> 00:35:39,879 Speaker 1: because in a way, you're sort of like absorbing the gas, right, 694 00:35:39,920 --> 00:35:41,879 Speaker 1: Like if your rock is big enough, it sort of 695 00:35:42,040 --> 00:35:45,080 Speaker 1: absorbed the atmosphere. Yeah, it sucks it into itself, and 696 00:35:45,160 --> 00:35:47,720 Speaker 1: it prevents it from getting bigger. It's like you sucking 697 00:35:47,719 --> 00:35:49,719 Speaker 1: your stomach in, right, it keeps you from from looking 698 00:35:49,760 --> 00:35:51,799 Speaker 1: larger than I don't think how do I think that 699 00:35:51,880 --> 00:35:56,880 Speaker 1: works in real Physicsdanu, I'm surprised. All right, Well, it 700 00:35:56,960 --> 00:35:59,719 Speaker 1: sounds like we should once again be lucky that we 701 00:35:59,760 --> 00:36:02,600 Speaker 1: are just the right size, because if we were heavier, 702 00:36:02,640 --> 00:36:05,000 Speaker 1: if the Earth was bigger, we wouldn't have an enmoshere, 703 00:36:05,440 --> 00:36:08,160 Speaker 1: or if we were smaller, we wouldn't have an atmosphere either. Yeah, 704 00:36:08,200 --> 00:36:10,000 Speaker 1: it's just another way that the Earth seems to be 705 00:36:10,040 --> 00:36:13,040 Speaker 1: at this weird sweet spot. Right. We're just the right 706 00:36:13,080 --> 00:36:16,000 Speaker 1: distance from the Sun, we have just the right amount 707 00:36:16,000 --> 00:36:18,920 Speaker 1: of atmosphere, we have just the amount of stuff to 708 00:36:19,000 --> 00:36:21,960 Speaker 1: hold onto that atmosphere, but not too much. We're like 709 00:36:22,200 --> 00:36:24,759 Speaker 1: far enough away from the center of the galaxy to 710 00:36:24,840 --> 00:36:27,600 Speaker 1: not be fried, but not so far away. But that 711 00:36:27,640 --> 00:36:31,160 Speaker 1: there's no planets out there, and so it's it's amazing 712 00:36:31,239 --> 00:36:33,799 Speaker 1: how many ways we seem to be lucky, you know, 713 00:36:33,840 --> 00:36:37,000 Speaker 1: and it raises questions about about how many how many 714 00:36:37,000 --> 00:36:39,759 Speaker 1: other planets are out there that could have as many 715 00:36:39,880 --> 00:36:43,040 Speaker 1: lucky factors. Yeah, you can be too big or too small. 716 00:36:43,440 --> 00:36:45,759 Speaker 1: You got to be just right, all right. Well, we 717 00:36:46,000 --> 00:36:48,359 Speaker 1: hope you enjoyed that. And maybe when you go out 718 00:36:48,400 --> 00:36:51,799 Speaker 1: there and breathe this new clean air that we're all 719 00:36:51,920 --> 00:36:55,680 Speaker 1: enjoying because of where we are these days, um, think 720 00:36:55,680 --> 00:36:57,960 Speaker 1: about how precious that breath of air is. In how 721 00:36:58,120 --> 00:37:00,680 Speaker 1: it's we were a little bit different in this planet, 722 00:37:00,960 --> 00:37:03,440 Speaker 1: we wouldn't have that nice fresh year and count your 723 00:37:03,440 --> 00:37:05,920 Speaker 1: breaths because you only got about a billion years left 724 00:37:06,000 --> 00:37:10,200 Speaker 1: to enjoy them. Depending if Daniel ends Universe and thanks 725 00:37:10,200 --> 00:37:13,080 Speaker 1: to my friend and colleague and geologists Steve Davis for 726 00:37:13,200 --> 00:37:16,120 Speaker 1: sending me to study and the idea for this podcast. Yeah, 727 00:37:16,200 --> 00:37:17,880 Speaker 1: if you are a physicist out there listening to this 728 00:37:17,880 --> 00:37:20,640 Speaker 1: program and you see a fun paper, send it to Daniel. 729 00:37:20,719 --> 00:37:22,480 Speaker 1: I will definitely look forward to hearing again from him 730 00:37:22,520 --> 00:37:24,040 Speaker 1: about it. But we want to hear about all your 731 00:37:24,040 --> 00:37:25,520 Speaker 1: thoughts and all your questions. So if you have a 732 00:37:25,600 --> 00:37:27,759 Speaker 1: question about anything going on in the universe or a 733 00:37:27,800 --> 00:37:30,000 Speaker 1: study you see on the internet, please write to us 734 00:37:30,239 --> 00:37:32,880 Speaker 1: at questions at Daniel and Jorge dot com. We do 735 00:37:33,000 --> 00:37:43,080 Speaker 1: love our listener mail. See you next time. Thanks for listening, 736 00:37:43,080 --> 00:37:45,800 Speaker 1: and remember that Daniel and Jorge Explain the Universe is 737 00:37:45,840 --> 00:37:49,319 Speaker 1: a production at by Heart Radio. From more podcast from 738 00:37:49,360 --> 00:37:53,120 Speaker 1: my Heart Radio, visited my Heart Radio, papp Apple Podcasts, 739 00:37:53,239 --> 00:38:01,759 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your FILI shows. No